Citigroup was fined $2 Million because a Junior Analyst emailed tech bloggers looking for information on a Facebook document. Not only did Citigroup pay the fine but they also fired the Analyst who emailed the bloggers. Ouch!
Citigroup agreed to pay a $2 million fine after a junior analyst e-mailed two employees at a technology website seeking feedback on a Facebook document containing a senior analyst’s views and estimates, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin said today in a statement. As a part of Facebook’s underwriting syndicate, Citigroup Global Markets was barred from disseminating research until 40 days after the IPO, according to the statement.
“This penalty should serve as a warning to the industry as a whole,” Galvin said in the statement. “It is essential in these times of rapid and diffuse means of communications that financial institutions be vigilant to ensure that the rules on IPOs are observed by all their personnel.”
